Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 5.djvu/839

 A SOCIOLOGICAL VIEW OF SOVEREIGNTY 823

departments imposed by an outside commission, and was created by the state outright on ethical and a priori principles, instead of being developed under the test of survival. In successful pri- vate business the general manager has complete power of appoint- ment and removal of subordinates, unhampered by any outside academic board of examiners, and if private industry is trans- ferred to public ownership, this method must be retained. The solution lies in the proper selection of the heads of departments, and in accomplishing this the state or city must imitate the method of private corporations in selecting their general man- agers and superintendents.' The structure of industry must be incorporated into government exactly as developed by competi- tive survival, but at the same time must be so amended as to secure the rights of the laborers which are at the time accepted as the ethical purpose of the state.

The right to employment differs from the socialistic theories of labor's rights in that the latter hold that the laborer has the right to the entire product. If this be so, there can be no temporizing with petty claims short of confiscation. But these theories are weak on the economic side, because they do not apprehend the psychological basis of interest ; and they are peculiarly naive in their treatment of organization and adminis- tration, for, while socialists see the coerciveness of private prop- erty, they do not see that coercion is also the basis both of that organization which makes private business successful and of that administration which constitutes government. Coercion has a psychic basis, founded in human nature, and whether it be in

'See Commons' Pro. Report., New York, 1896, pp. 211-16. Also report of New York state excise commissioner, 1898. The commission, speaking of the amended civil-service law which restricted the state civil-service commission to exami- nations for " merit " only and gave to the heads of departments authority to hold examinations for " fitness," says, p. 38 ; " The results of these examinations were very interesting and instructive, and satisfied me that, except for places requiring technical knowledge, no examination which appears to grade and rate people according to their relative ability for a particular line of work should ever be wholly a paper or written examination ; but should be made and personally conducted by people of broad experience, quick perception, and knowledge of human nature, who themselves are thoroughly qualified in the line on which they assume to question and grade can- didates."